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Central America

(Encyclopedia)Central America, narrow, southernmost region (c.202,200 sq mi/523,698 sq km) of North America, linked to South America at Colombia. It separates the Caribbean from the Pacific. Historically, geographe...

Venezuela

(Encyclopedia)CE5 Venezuela vĕnəzwāˈlə, Span. vānāswāˈlä [key], officially the Bolivarian Republic of Venezuela, republic (2015 est. pop. 29,275,000), 352,143 sq mi (912,050 sq km), N South America. Ve...

Nariño, Antonio

(Encyclopedia)Nariño, Antonio äntōˈnyō närēˈnyō [key], 1765–1823, Colombian revolutionary. A liberal intellectual, Nariño was one of the first to foment revolution against Spain in South America. For se...

Botero, Fernando

(Encyclopedia)Botero, Fernando, 1932–, Colombian figurative painter and sculptor, b. Medellín, one of the most celebrated contemporary Latin American artists. He attended his native city's university (grad. 1950...

Bingham, Hiram, 1875–1956, American archaeologist, historian, and statesman

(Encyclopedia)Bingham, Hiram, 1875–1956, American archaeologist, historian, and statesman, b. Honolulu; son of Hiram Bingham (1831–1908). He was educated at Yale (B.A., 1898), the Univ. of California (M.A., 190...

Saye and Sele, William Fiennes, 1st Viscount

(Encyclopedia)Saye and Sele, William Fiennes, 1st Viscount fīnz, sāˈənsēl [key], 1582–1662, English politician and promoter of colonization in America. He was a Puritan in religious sympathy and a leader in ...

screamer

(Encyclopedia)screamer, common name for gregarious, aquatic birds comprising three species in the family Anhimidae. Although they are related to the ducks and geese, they do not resemble them in outward appearance....

Orinoco

(Encyclopedia)Orinoco ōrēnōˈkō [key], river of Venezuela, estimated to be from 1,500 to 1,700 mi (2,410–2,735 km) long. Rising near Mt. Delgado Chalbaud in the Guiana Highlands, S Venezuela, the Orinoco flow...

cocaine

(Encyclopedia)cocaine kōkānˈ, kōˈkān [key], alkaloid drug derived from the leaves of the coca shrub. A commonly abused illegal drug, cocaine has limited medical uses, most often in surgical applications that ...

Guiana Highlands

(Encyclopedia)Guiana Highlands, mountainous tableland, c.1,200 mi (1,930 km) long and from 200 to 600 mi (322–966 km) wide, N South America, bounded by the Orinoco and Amazon river basins, and by the coastal lowl...